A Happy Ending
by zackubernerdcondon
Summary: Ramza Beoulve was offered no happy ending, his reward was being labled as a heretic. Will he find peace in another Ivalice? And has he gone into his past, or his future?
1. Chapter 1

Ramza had chosen this place because for him, it was a beginning of an end. He wished it to be the end of the end. The remains of the ruined fort Zeakden had lost their sharp edges, being eroded by the years following the great explosion. Ramza stands at the end of a ruined bridge. It had led to the gunpowder stores. Now it led to the abyss. Ramza unsheathed his sword. He raises it in front of him. It not his combat sword, but a simple iron blade unadorned and not yet whetted with blood. Ramza turns the weapon, lets its blade linger but inches from his chest. The warrior leans forward, and falls. Ramza hears a sharp crack.

"Did you think I would let you die that easily?"

Ramza opens his eyes. He reaches under his body and pulls out a hilt. The sword's blade had been shattered into toothpicks.

"Damn you and your aim, Mustadio!" He sneers, rising off the cold, dead earth. He unsheathes his chaos blade. He rushes towards the engineer, his blade waivers and flickers like a flame, but slower. Upon reaching his friend, Ramza collapses in fatigue and anguish.

"Get up Ramza. I'm here to talk to you. God, what were you thinking? That your problems would just go away?" yells the marksman.

"Why did you stop me? Do you realize how hard it was to prepare for this? Do you know what it is like to have lost every thing?" Ramza says. He gets up and smacks Mustadio in the jaw. Mustadio staggers back, but does not fight back. From behind him, a young blond woman comes forth with tears in her eyes.

"Ramza?"

"Alma… you should not be here." Ramza says quietly.

"You still have me, brother. You still have me!" she screams. She is comforted by Mustadio, who remains silently staring at his old friend.

The sound of distant chocobos is heard. Ramza looks up sees familiar looking figures in the distance. Eight chocobos, an iron man, and an Apanda were converging on the wreck.

"Why are you all here? Is this some sort of intervention?" comments Ramza.

"We were coming any way. Your faithful iron slave informed Alma that you had gone with a new sword, and Alma thought it might be serious. Thank God she was right." says Mustadio.

The robed twins Rafa and Malek arrive first, weighing much less than the others. They are followed closely by Agrais, all ways one to put business before comfort had been pushing her chocobo to its furthest. Orlandu and Rad, his squire, follow her in nonchalant brown robes. Beowulf and Reis ride together, and Meliadoul is the last of the riders. She was never very good on a Chocobo. Than comes that enigma, Byblos. Last arriving is the great iron giant worker eight.

"What is it you want, Mustadio? And more importantly, why **here**? By the great one, its cold!" asks Malek.

"We found your note at Ramza's cottage. It looks like you timed your messages perfectly." observes Rafa. She had the common sense to bring a jacket, and was therefore not freezing like Malek.

"Ramza! Why are standing there like that? What is going on? I demand some answers, I am sick and tired of secrecy!" orders Agrais.

Alma steps forward to answer. "Ramza tried to kill himself. Mustadio stopped him, but well…" Alma says. She breaks down in mid sentence and resumes crying.

"Ramza, you know if you ever need something, we are here for you. Physical or spiritual. You may never enter a church again, but this old priest still remembers his training." says Beowulf. He puts his hand on Ramza's shoulder.

"I cannot keep running. Not from the church, not from my past, not from myself. I cannot keep living in Ivalice. I cannot take the guilt." Whispers Ramza.

"That is why I have sent for us to gather here. We all have been left on the way side, without a place to go or a country to call a homeland. I propose we remedy this. After my father died, I was left notes on a collection of artifacts found under Goug." Explains Mustadio. He pulls out two stones from his many pockets. One is a jagged almost golden gem in a crescent shape, the Taurus stone. The other is a large diamond shaped artifact. He rises up the diamond. "This is a stone that would take us to a land far away. Weather it leads to a country far away, another planet, or even through the streams of time, I do not no. I do know it resonates with my zodiac stone."

Mustadio demonstrates this by bringing the two near. They begin to vibrate and shine.

"You present a door that leads to freedom or oblivion. A one way ticket to God knows where, a game of roulette where you can't see the odds. I like your style, human." Says Byblos. He casts some form of dark summoning and brings out the Serpintarius stone.

"I am willing to take a risk, if it means we can go to a place were we can be a family. What do you think Bea, a place to finally settle down?" Real asks Beowulf. They look in each others eyes, and take out there stones, the Leo and Cancer stone.

"Any think for." Beowulf says quietly.

"What is a heretic Holy Knight, but an orphan, ripped from her mother's arms." Agrais responds. She takes out her own stone, the Aries. It had belonged to another Holy Knight before her.

"I come too." Meliadoul says.

"Why is that?" asks Orlandu.

"I keep my own council, thank you very much."

"Well, now I have too come. The girl has sparked an old man's interest." Orlandu says. Laughing heartily, he turns to Rad. "Well, what about you? Join an old man for a last adventure, one final escapade?"

"Of course Lord Cid. I would be honored." responds the youthful squire. Mel, Cid, and Rad all present their stones. They are respectively the Sagittarius, Libra, and Pisces stones.

Alma, still crying, looks to her brother expectantly. "Maybe, we don't need to run any longer." she tells him.

"I go where Master beckons. The Aquarius stone that powers me resonates with your teleportation device." exclaims Worker 8.

"Maybe, maybe this other world has what I'm looking for." Answers Ramza. He turns to Mustadio. "What do we do?"

"Get in a circle. On the count of three, reach out your stones. After a few moments the zodiac stones will activate the crystal and send us to our destination." He explains. Ramza takes out his Capricorn stone and Alma her Virgo stone.

The atmosphere is decidedly quiet. Without a sound and with great trepidation the thirteen comrades prepare to go.

"One. Two. Three!"

A flash. Scenes receiving messages beyond mortal bounds. Confusion. Finally, darkness.

Ramza awakes with a feeling somewhat similar to a thousand hangovers. The sun is almost heavy, as if heat could weigh a man down. The air is hot and arid. He is lying by the side of a road, beside a giant levitating orange crystal. He is being watched by the most bizarre of critters. It has the face of a cat person, is about two feet tall, and has large ears. It also has tiny batwings, cloths, and the most bizarre kind of head gear Ramza has ever seen. It is some kind of fuzzy ball suspended by a string.

"Where am I?" asks the delirious hero.

"You're in Rabanastre, Kupo!"


	2. Chapter 2

This chapter is a little slow. It's mainly about Ramza getting used to living in a world completly different than his own. Some fammilier characters sow up, but i'm not telling. Please, please, please reveiw! Without feedback, I cannot improve!

Ramza felt consciousness leave him again. He awoke again in a strange cavern. It was clearly of human, or at least intelligent, design. He was laid on the ground atop soft bedding made of old rags. There was light, but not from a candle or the sun. Ramza wondered if it was some sort of magic, or something stranger. Ramza sensed that something was wrong, a feeling of nakedness.

"My armor!" he yells. Ramza jumps to his feet, and searches his person for other things that may have been taken.

"Hmmm, so the intrepid explorer awakens. Your armor is safe, and so are you." Calls an unfamiliar voice. Ramza turns and sees an old man. He is sitting in a chair with an odd rodent, a pet. His body seems old, but the man's eyes reveal sharpness more appropriate to thieves.

"So, you have brought me here?" Ramza asks.

"No, I am far too frail for such things. Some friends of mine found you in that oven you call armor and brought you to me."

"Where is it?"

The old man motions to a pile of miscellaneous gear. Under a pile of false silk, Ramza finds his gear. He searches it thoroughly. All of his equipment he had on him, practically all he owned, was there. Satisfied, Ramza puts on a few vital pieces of armor and packs the rest in a nearby backpack.

"Am I free to leave?" Ramza asks.

"Depends to what you want to leave. My home, you may leave. Your problems, much harder t escape from, yes?" inquires the smiling old man. "I am Dalan. You are a guest in my humble home, and if you please, a guest to a simple meal."

The old man nods, and from behind Ramza a young man brings in two servings of stew. Ramza takes a bowl, and eats with Dalan. Soon, three more people join him.

"So, where you from?" asks one of the guest, a man. His cloths are of the same light style that Ramza had noticed elsewhere in this new world, but they were more ragged.

"The north." Ramza responded.

"You a soldier?" asks another, this one a girl.

"Kind of."

"Hey Dalan, who is this guy?" asks the third. This one is younger, and male.

"He is an enigma living in a riddle. Perhaps he would to reveal the answer." Dalan says. They all look to Ramza.

"My name is Jon. I come from the north, and am looking for directions to the sea." Ramza replies. He finishes his plate and places it next to him. For the rest of the meal, he is a silent observer. The three unnamed guests leave, taking the food with them.

"Where am I?" Ramza asks Dalan.

"Ha. You act like it is your first time in Rabanastre." Dalan laughs.

"Why would it not be?"

"You came through the Gate crystal. Gate crystals only take you to other crystals you have been too. How could it be you first time?"

Ramza stops to think. He had a head ache, and he needed a simple answer.

"I meant where in Rabanezder."

"Rabanastre. You are in southern sprawl of Lowtown. Although that I doubt that is the answer you want. You know, to help you I need to know what you need."

Exhausted, Ramza sits down on the bedding he had used earlier. He is too tired to keep trying to lie.

"I do not know where I am, why I am here. I am from a place far enough to have never heard of Rabanastre. I am not sure of how I got here. I left with twelve others. Not through a Gate crystal, whatever that is. I do not trust you, but until I get some sort of instruction how to get somewhere familiar I will not leave." Ramza answers. He slouches into the bedding, rubbing his head. The ache was getting worse.

"Ah, a riddle. Find a place that brings a man home where everything is unfamiliar. Rest, and when you wake an answer to the riddle waiting you will find."

And so he did. He slept for hours in the strange built cavern. He wakes up to find his headache gone and his body refreshed. He gets up, armors and arms himself and looks around. Dalan's home has three rooms, separated by very heavy curtains. Ramza had been staying in the middle room, which served as a dinning room and a storehouse for a large range of goods. One of the rooms leads further into the home. It is clearly Dalan's private space, and holds a fortune in valuable knickknacks. It is like a tiny palace, for a peasant emperor. On the other side of the store room there is a more open room. It holds rather useless junk and has a door to the out side. Just as Ramza considers leaving Dalan's house, the said person comes in, helped by a child, and another beast of intelligence worth Ramza's awe. It- gender being most definitely unspecific appears to be a giant blue humanoid lizard. It is hunched, but if it were to stand tall it would be taller than Ramza almost two times over. It wears obviously valuable clothing, and despite the inhuman appearance made Ramza think of gil.

"So this is Jon. You were right about him being new to Rabanastre I don't think I've ever seen a face that shocked at the sight of a Baanga." The great reptile says in a distinct, gravely voice. It occurs to Ramza that the scaly man, now obviously male, must be a Baanga like he said. The Baanga turns to Ramza and says "Now calm down. I am Migello, and if you don't mind I'd like to have a look at your maps."

Ramza shakes himself out of the shock. "I am R- Jon. May I ask why you need my maps?" he asks.

"Need? No, no, I'm here to help you. I am an accomplished merchant and my friend Dalan asked me to see if I could make heads or tails of any maps you have." Migello says. His good manor infects Ramza, who gives over his maps. The merchant looks over the charts for a good twenty minutes before telling Ramza and Dalan anything.

"Well, If the notes here are correct, I would have to guess that you are from a place either very, very, very far away or, well, no that's impossible," Rambles Migello. He is obviously confused, and rather surprised.

"Nothing is impossible. Whatever it is, stranger things have happened to me." answers Ramza.

"These maps are of **the** **kingdom **of Ivalice. It can't possibly be the Ivalice, it's far too small. But if the Ordalia on this map is where Ordalia really is, than Romadan would be Valendia, but well, Ahhg! It's as if someone hit Ivalice so hard it jostled. It is totally different but oddly familiar. The only explanation of this being Ivalice is that it is from the distant past, or the distant future!" explained the exasperated Baanga.

Ramza reaches into his pocket and pulls out the Capricorn stone. He stares at its jagged edges. "So Mustadio was right. Yes that makes sense" he told Migello.

"Well, whether you are some sort of time traveler or not, you still need to get out of low town. Your new here in more ways than own, and if you want I will give you a shot tour of the city and you can come to my shop and ask any questions you want." The merchant says. He practically pushes Ramza out of the house. As they leave Migello starts to lecture Ramza. "Now I've got some excellent maps and charts for sale at my shop my boy, and any thing else you need…"

Dalan sits back in his chair and laughs at his handiwork. If any one get this 'Jon' to open up, he thinks to himself, it's Migello.

The city is not the largest he's ever seen, but it had more energy than any other. It brims with life, and there is a perpetual movement to it. It was as if the city is a kind of cultural whirlwind. Ramza is bombarded by strange things on all sides. More Baanga, strange pig people, more of the tiny bat-cat-bear people. Before he knows it he is in Migello's shop. At the counter there is a rabbit person. Quickly he is half dragged behind the counter into Migello's home.

"Wow" Ramza says. He finds the nearest chair and sits down. Migello touches a rune on the wall and there is light.

"Don't even have light stone where you are from Jon? You are from far away." Migello goes to his window and sticks his head out the window and yells "Kytes, I have a job for you!"

"So what were those other creatures? Before you I had never met an intelligent bea- uh, non human." Ramza asks.

"Well, there are Seeqs. They are the really big ones. My clerk is a Viera, but they are rare. And then there are the Moogles."

"Of course! Moogles! Always thought they were just stories. Myths by over imaginative wayfarers. Next thing you will tell me there are air ships." Ramza laughs.

"Actually…" Migello says, grinning. He opens the window covers and points out into the sky. Ramza goes over to see. In the sky there are two ships. He thinks of the last time he saw an airship. Ramza's whole body tenses up, and he grows serious.

"Are you ok m'boy? You act as if you've seen a ghost." questions Migello. He approaches Ramza.

"I am fine. I just need to sit down. Now you said you would answer some questions." Ramza replies. For the next two hours he questions Migello, mostly on places in this new Ivalice. When he is finished he and Migello eat a quiet dinner and he is shown to a room. Ramza sleeps well, and dreams green plains and reed flutes.

The next day Migello awakens to find his guest in full armor and well stocked for a journey. Ramza had found a good compromise between armor and comfort: he wore the breast plate, shoulder pads and greaves of his armor, and covered the rest with the hard leather he was accustomed to in the cold of Zeakden.

"I have purchased some sundries; at least gil is the same here. I do need to know if you can tell me how to get to Buhjerba. There is someone there that I need to see." requests Ramza.

"Are you sure you want to go so soon? You are welcome to stay." the merchant says.

"I will not run any longer. If there is one thing I can be sure of it is that my friend will go to Buhjerba eventually. I do not know why I was brought to this city for a reason, but I am glad. I feel I can trust you. It is something I have missed."

"Ah well. If you must go, allow me to pay for the airship ticket. Here let me show you where the aerodrome is." Migello marks Ramza's new map of Rabanastre and sends him off. Ramza prepares himself and leaves. The Aerodrome is busier than Ramza would have guessed. He gets some friendly help from the docent and is soon standing on an airship for the second time. He stays on the deck. Ramza finds the sensation of looking down so high up nauseating, but it is better than the alternative. 'If I stay here,' he thinks, 'I will be able to convince myself this is not the Graveyard'. He thinks back on that final battle, and takes out the Capricorn stone again. 'I should toss it; it has caused me enough trouble.' Ramza Almost through it, but stops himself. "No. I will not allow this evil corrupt another land.'


	3. Chapter 3

All who read this: Please review! Even if you do not usually review, even if you do not like my story, please, please review! I really want to know how I can improve this story.

Bhujerba: the floating city. Its awesome beauty rid Ramza's head of thoughts of the past. He reminds himself of his mission and prepares for arrival. Upon leaving the Bhujerban aerodrome, he finds a guide.

"Excuse me, could you aid me? I am trying to find a friend." Ramza asks.

"Of course, Bhadra. That is our purpose. Now where is your friend? Know this city like the back of my hand." The guide says helpfully.

"Actually I was hoping you could tell me. Did anyone arrive recently dressed strange, was really exited about airships, and seemed ignorant of basic facts any idiot would know?" Ramza asks plainly. He had no time for pleasantries.

"Ah, you mean the mad marksman!" the guide says with understanding.

"That would be him. Where is he?"

"Prison"

Mustadio had not left his cell window since he had been brought there. 'A life imprisoned in a world with airships is better than a life as a fugitive bound to the ground.' He heard his door open. 'Must be the guards, bringing me my dinner.'

"You threatened to shoot the Marquis's aid. Do you want to live in a cell?" says a familiar voice. 'Ramza. I will talk to him later, after this ship passes.'

"Not now Ramza I'm busy." Mustadio says. Instead of turning to face Ramza, Mustadio just waves him away. It takes three seconds for Mustadio to realize what is going on. He slowly turns away from his window and sees Ramza. "Ramza! You are alive! There are airships! Life is good!" yells the cheerful man. He embraces Ramza.

"You do know that you are in a cell, right?"

"It is merely temporary. Soon I will go to trial. I am innocent due to ignorance and temporary insanity. I will explain to the judge how we arrived here and they will understand."

"You will be found insane.

"That's the plan.

"No, I mean completely insane. Do you have any idea how crazy our story sounds? You're known as the mad marksman. There are bets at the tavern on whether the judge will send you to an asylum or just have you beheaded."

Mustadio considered this fact, and his face changed from happy, to worried, to scared. "Ramza, you have to get me out. I cannot have been given wings to have them snipped!" Mustadio says.

"I will do what I can. If I must, I will break you out of here. I do not abandon my friends. Here comes the guard, farewell."

Mustadio watched as his old friend is taken away.

"I'm doomed"

Ramza leaves the prison with a feeling of dread. 'I need a drink' he says to himself. Along the way to Bhujerba's resident bar, Ramza appreciates the magnificent architecture. In this city of art and beauty, even the Moogles does not bother Ramza. Where Rabanastre was alive, Bhujerba is decidedly cultured. Bhujerba is a cultured mining town. Ramza thought it was a floating oxymoron.

The bar is what does Ramza's leftover depression in. he cannot help but to join the patrons in relaxation. Soon a word catches Ramza's ear.

"…Bunansa strikes again, robbing a merchant vessel of contraband in mid-flight without being noticed. The famed sky pirate is likely hiding out in the vicinity of Bhujerba, due to damage taken in the ensuing firefight. Snort! The news pamphlet says nothing about how the criminal looked trying to explain why he could not tell us what had been stolen." says a red Seeq.

"Excuse me, but did you say Bunansa?" Ramza asks the fellow patron. Mustadio's surname was Bunansa. Sure it was a long shot, but Ramza knew that breaking Mustadio out himself would only get them both killed.

"Balthier Bunansa, the famed sky pirate. He got another one, deserved it of course." answers the Seeq.

"It said he docked nearby? How is that? Where would he be?" drills Ramza. Re leans towards the Seeq aggressively.

"Calm down, Bhadra. Actually it's pretty obvious where he is. He must be docked by one of the bridges in the mines. Most of the mines are closed at any one time. Helps the Magicite crystallize."

"So anyone could just…"

"Not any one! The closed areas are full of Rakas, very dangerous. Only a fool would go in alone."

Ramza was used to being called a fool. He sneaks passed the mine foreman that night. There are monsters, but nothing Ramza has not fought before, mostly just bats. 'Why did he call the mines dangerous?' Ramza thinks as he takes another turn. He comes to an open area. It is like no other mine Ramza had ever heard of. The mine opens up, but it is the floor that is missing, not the top. He quickly shakes himself out of the vertigo and marches on.

"This must be one of the open areas that the Seeq told me of. So, where is Balthier?" Ramza asks himself. Suddenly he hears a clatter from behind him. He turns to see a skeleton stab him in the chest with a javelin. Ramza is pushed back, but he is not fazed. He unsheathes his chaos blade and strikes the corpse down. He hears more clatters, and discovers there source. The skeleton warriors are coming out of the ground. They are legion, Ramza is outnumbered literally ten to one. He makes charge out of the cloud of corpses and runs for his life. As he runs undead reconstitute themselves and Ramza loses track of where he is. A left turn, a right, two more lefts and he find himself where he started, utterly surrounded.

"Jump!"

Ramza instinctively heeded the voice, and leaps off the bridge. He closes his eyes and prepares for the impact. It comes in mere seconds. Instead of a fatal splash, Ramza is treated to the thud of metal. He is shocked to find no image to accompany the sound: as far as he can tell, he stands in mid air. The invisible surface starts to rise, so Ramza readies himself for anything. In a matter of seconds a ground appears where once there was none, and an entire airship is revealed. Powerful booms and flashes of light reduce Ramza's foes to dust.

"You better have a good reason for being in these mines, because If you do not, I may have to forget my heroic properties and dump you into the ocean." calls out an irritated voice. Ramza, having already been on the ready, moves towards the voice.

"I am here to parley with one Balthier Bunansa, who I presume is you, about certain subjects sure to peek an interest to him. My name is not of importance." Ramza calls out. He slowly advances. 'Curse this infernal fog!' Ramza thinks to himself.

"I hope you aren't poor. I do hate to ransom for small change." The voice sounds. This time it is from behind Ramza, so he spins again. He is promptly grabbed from the back, and is knocked unconscious with a rag soaked in drouzzweed. 'Not again!' thinks Ramza as the fog turns black.

Ramza comes back from his attack irritated and sober. He is stripped, bound, and gagged at a well set dining table. There are three settings, one for him and two on the opposite end of the table. Sitting at the table is an impeccably dressed Hume and a dangerous looking Viera. The table is lighted with the same sort of unnatural magic as Low town, but the light stones are set in candle sticks as to add flavor to the table. The food smells delicious and consists of grilled foul.

"So our guest has awoken. Fran be a dear and un-gag the poor thing so we can, how did he put it, _Parley._" says the man with the same voice as before. The Viera gets up and un-gags Ramza. Ramza turns to his childhood lessons on manners and adjusts his posture.

"A man made for my own heart! Now, if you would not mind could you please tell me what you have sought me out to say." requested the sky pirate. He was clearly enjoying the whole affair.

"I seek you help in liberating a very good friend of mine." answers Ramza.

"And where am I to aid you in your noble rescue?" parries Balthier. He takes a sip from his wine.

"Bhujerba prison."

"Ha ha ha ha! Give me a single good reason why I should do that, and my lovely partner Fran will untie you so you can enjoy that exquisite cockatrice meat." laughed Balthier.

"I can do that and more: I have three." Ramza says. Balthier leans in, eager to hear what his prisoner has to offer. "Firstly, I could offer a reward beyond simple currency." Ramza was only half bluffing; his knowledge of his Ivalice might very well uncover such a prize.

"On the other hand, by selling your extremely valuable equipment I could get a reward of quite a bit of such currency. You will need a much better reason than that to earn your dinner."

"Secondly, the name of the person I would have you help me in freeing. Mustadio Bunansa. "Ramza reveals. Balthier loses his smile.

"Do you find it amusing to lie about a man's kin? I am the last living Bunansa in all of Ivalice, and beyond. I may not be proud of my heritage, but I know it well." Balthier says angrily. He leers at Ramza intensely.

"My last reason is far simpler: There are only two of you." Ramza says. He breaks the chair he is bound to, jumps up onto the table and tips it with his feet. Quickly rolling to the side of the overturned platform, Ramza waists no time cutting the ropes around his wrists with a nearby shard of porcelain He grabs a broken leg of the chair as a weapon and raises…

…Right into the barrel of a gun. Behind him Ramza hears the Viera, Fran Balthier called her, draw her bow.

"I fear no death of injury. Nor do I lie. Kill me now, gain the money from my belongings and forget me. Just remember that you have little to lose, and much to gain by sparing me." offers the noble. Balthier looks less angry more annoyed.

"What do you think Fran? I have no idea what to do with this man." asks the pirate. His partner puts back her bow and arrow and walks up to Ramza. She examines his half naked image, and turns to Balthier.

"I sense no mal intentions in this man. If he meant us harm, I would know." answers the beautiful Viera.

"Than it is settled. Fetch the boy a shirt while I lock up all the more impotent rooms." says Balthier. He lowers his weapon and starts to walk away. At the door he turns back and asks "What is your name anyway?"

Ramza gives out a great sigh. "I am Ramza Beoulve, last living male of the noble house of Gallione."


	4. Chapter 4

Ok, me again. Just here to say that if you review, you are gifted with excellent luck. For about three seconds. Also, I am looking for a person to Beta this story. Contact me any way you wish

Fran is as accomplished a mage as she is an archer, or so Balthier claimed. She herself refrained from commenting on her abilities. 'She better be as good as the pirate says, or I will have to carry Mustadio out in pieces' Ramza thought. The plan was simple, but delicate. Fran would use an extremely well aimed warp spell to get rid of Mustadio's cell wall. Than Balthier and Ramza would sneak in silently and retrieve any of Mustadio's confiscated belongings. Balthier has complained, but Ramza assured him that Mustadio owned an object worth enough to make it Balthier's while.

Ramza thought about these things in perfect silence while Fran casts. The three of them had been waiting outside the cell onto the Strahl for almost an hour, in perfect silenced. To alert the guards or even the excitable Mustadio early would be disastrous, and Fran needed at least an hour to cast warp accurately enough. With an anticlimactic hum the wall fazes out. Mustadio lies sleeping on his cot.

Balthier motions to Fran. She moves in with impossible grace and uses drouzzweed to guarantee an easy rescue. It is now Ramza and Balthier's turn. Ramza wares no armor but wields his Chaos Blade. Balthier wares the same clothes he had on at the dinner, and wields a wall made rifle with silent shot. They move without hesitation. They sneak into the prison corridor. Balthier leads, he has 'visited' the prison several times. As they approach an intersection, Balthier stiffens and moves up against the wall. Ramza follows suit and listens.

"I looove working in the pi'son. You ain't got do notin." A voice, abviosly a guard sloshes.

"I love Mhudru e'en bedder. Wha bou oo?" A second guard says. The two guards start laughing. Soon the laughing turns to snoring. Balthier moves off the wall and brushes himself off.

"If there is one reason I despise prisons, it is the filth that permeates every crevasse. If it were not for the dirt, I would turn myself in." jokes the dashing sky pirate. He walks by the dead drunk guards and takes the bottle they had been drinking. Ramza just glares at him. He is in no mood for joviality. Balthier simply rolls his eyes.

The confescarium is unguarded; it takes only three minutes to find Mustadio's stuff. Ramza looks it over. His face betrays a sense of worry. He franticly searches for something.

"What is it Ramza? New guards will be here soon." Balthier asks.

"There is a golden gemstone. It is not here, we cannot leave without it." Ramza answers.

"Actually, I think we can." Balthier exits the room. He looks back, and sees Ramza continuing the search. "I am going to regret this. Look here, I know where your stone is. The more valuable items are kept upstairs, guarded by specially trained Sainikas." reveals the pirate.

"You take Mustadio away, I will get the stone." Ramza orders. He walks past Balthier.

"You think I am going to allow my treasure source to just walk away? Sorry Ramza but your debts are harder to escape than that." Balthier tells him. They look in each other's eyes, and they smile.

"I charge, you take out any mages. Try not to kill any; I am not one to make an enemy out of a misunderstanding." Ramza says as he walks down the corridor.

"Here we go!" shouts Balthier as the two of them charge up the prison stairs. Ramza smashes through the door and right into a guard. Five of the Sainika are playing cards and the table has their swords on them. Ramza leaps onto the table launching the swords into the ceiling. A guard tries to stab at Ramza, but Ramza pulls him across the table into another of his friends. A second guard grabs two spears off the wall and tosses one to another Sainika. Ramza makes a wide slash of his chaos blade. The spears rust and rot in front of the soldier's eyes. A gunshot fires from behind Ramza; he turns and sees a guard kneeling. Balthier shot him in the leg. Ramza knocks out the man with his pummel. Lo sooner did the pummel connect the skull did Ramza be blasted off the table by what felt like a Thunder. Another gunshot silenced the mage. Ramza grabbed the crippled caster and held him up on the wall.

"Where is the spoil room? Point, and give me the key. I will kill you if I must, but I would prefer to leave you and your allies alive." Ramza commands the mage. The mage points to an adjoining room, pulls out a key, and faints.

"That was fast." comments Balthier.

"I know how to give orders." responds Ramza. He opens the iron door leading to the spoil room. The Taurus Stone lies on a near by table. Ramza grabs it and leaves. "Do not take anything. The last thing I need is to make an enemy of Bhujerba."

Balthier chuckles. "So freeing a well known criminal will get you the Marquis's favor, will it? Strange, it never worked for me." laughs Balthier. Ramza ignores him. He rushes to the waiting airship. Mustadio is resting on a couch. Fran takes off and falls beneath clouds to prevent any pursuit.

"Did you get what you needed?" Fran asks Balthier. He goes into the cockpit and takes the controls.

"Of course not! The leading man faces obstacles at every turn. If I always got my way, life would not be an adventure." Balthier says with a flourish. Ramza looks to Fran with a confused look. She simply smiles knowingly.

Ramza sleeps soundly, and awakens to silence. They had anchored over the Estersand for repairs. Ramza realizes that Balthier and Fran must be outside. He dresses and goes to check on Mustadio. Ramza is shocked to find an empty couch in the main room of the Strahl. He looks around and sees two feet sticking out of an open panel in the wall. Before he can investigate, Ramza is surprised to see Balthier come up from the floor holding on to a knotted rope.

"Good to see my self titled gil fountain awake. And my other guest…" Than Balthier sees the feet. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING IN MY AIRSHIP!!!!!!!" he roars. Balthier grabs Mustadio by the feet and slides him out. The joke is on Balthier however when Mustadio comes out of the panel armed with his Blast Gun.

"Taking notes." Mustadio says before sliding back into the wall. Ramza is less shocked than the pirate. He is used to Mustadio when he is working: a filthy mess of oil, dust, and intellect. Mustadio once pulled the same trick on Ramza when he was excavating Worker 8.

"Mustadio will do your craft no harm. He is from a land where airships rot in massive graveyards, ancient and broken. Mustadio is an archeologist engineer, a scavenger of age's past." explains Ramza.

"He can scavenge some were else! That is the panel to the left Glossair ring. If he so much as severs a wire the whole ship will spiral to its doom!" shouts Balthier. He is notably less angry and more scared.

"Do not worry. I built a back-up router in case of that. It would not hold for long, but I can fix whatever I break." Echoes Mustadio's muffled voice.

"How?" asks Balthier. Fear changes to caution.

"I go no ware without a simple power spanner. It is very sturdy, designed to power broken force pockets when excavating the inside of rotting airships." Mustadio explains. Balthier's face changes from cautious to curios.

"Force pockets? What are those?" he asks.

"The energy from Glossair rings is easily rerouted to the inside of a ship. Useless for a working craft, but when it is buried hundreds of feet underground, a force pocket can save a life or something better." Mustadio tells Balthier. "My father would have died excavating the Taurus Stone, if it were not for a reversed ring."

"So, what exactly are you doing?" asks Balthier. Ramza smiles. There is no doubt to him a bout Mustadio and Balthier's relation. They were like two versions of a story: same save for the details.

"I am sketching details of the various power conduits. Very, very different than the ones I am used to. Actually, could you grab my a few more pieces of paper, I am running out." requests the engineer. Ramza just enjoys watching the two. He is joined by Fran. They are both amused by how well the two get along.

"What will you do now?" Fran asks Ramza. He looks at her, and pauses to think.

"I must find the rest of us. There are thirteen of us." Ramza says.

"I have been thinking. Mustadio was sent to Buhjerba, I Rabanastre. If there are as many of these gate crystals as I have heard, than my friends have probably been scattered across the land."

"Than you should go where there is least likely that you would fail to find your friends." the wise woman says. Ramza thinks on this. He takes out his map and contemplates his goals. Later, after Mustadio finishes and the four of them rest for lunch, Ramza makes a decision.


	5. Chapter 5

If you are reading this and have not reviewed my story before, I command you to review now. Do not make me poison your food. In this chapter Ramza gets drunk and later once again is knocked unconscious. Yes, again. On another note, I plan on writing a spin off story later. It will be called For Lack of a Happy Ending, and will chronicle Ramza's fall into depression in the land of Fovoham.

After dinner, Ramza pulled Balthier aside. "My friends are still missing. I am afraid I cannot pay you yet." Ramza reveals. Balthier raises an eyebrow.

"I thought you were one to never break his word. Explain to me what 'reward beyond currency' means to you? Not that I am not thankful for your friend's help." Balthier asks. He gracefully moves around Ramza. If he had not known better, Ramza would have thought the gesture not a threat.

"I am willing to offer collateral. Something useless to you, but beyond value to me. I do not go against my word. A reward was promised, a reward will be delivered. Just not any time soon." Ramza says. He follows Balthier with his eyes.

"I am intrigued. What do you want that I don't?" inquires the pirate. He widens his grin. Balthier finds amusement in all things.

"Maps of my homeland. You will not be able to use it, but if I ever plan on finding the fate of my birth place, I will require it. Are not all people drawn to the place they were born?" points out Ramza.

"I will take your offer. But only because you're other two reasons were so accurate. I do however insist that you tell me why you leave so soon." Balthier shrewdly orders.

"Your partner led me to thinking on my current situation. It would be easy to wait until things cool down and pay you what I can. That could take months. Every day I wait my friends could fall to the cruel fate of all those who live. I am determined to find all of my friend's alive." answers Ramza. "If you like, you may take us to our first destination."

"Our?"

"I and Mustadio. Mustadio is no pirate. And I trust no pirate further than I can throw his bounty."

Balthier laughs at this, and calls on the others. "No family of mine, and I assume Ramza was not lying when he old me you were kin of mine, Mustadio, without a glass of Wyrmwine. Fran, bring up some basilisk rum. The older stuff." Balthier commands.

"So we leave? I had hoped for more time to study this great ship. Finally I am beginning to understand how man can soar." Mustadio says. He sits down with Ramza and Balthier. The wine comes, and the men have a glass. Fran politely declines, citing distaste for stupidity.

"I have no drunk anything stronger than bark bear in ages. Alma is so strict about such things." Ramza mentions.

"So even the lone swordsman has a sweetheart? I would never have guessed." insinuated Balthier. Ramza and Mustadio look at him, they, and laugh so hard it hurts.

"Alma is my sister." Ramza explains, between side splitting spasms. Balthier joins his guests in laughing, and for the rest of the night the three comrades enjoy themselves.

The Strahl took off with a roar and slowly retreated into the sky. Ramza chose to begin his search where he could lay low. With this in mind, Mustadio and Ramza found them selves several miles away from a town known as the North Bank village. The Estersand was calm. Suddenly feeling at danger, the duo marched on silently. Mustadio loaded his Blast Gun, and Ramza unsheathed the Chaos Blade. Mustadio stops, and points to the south west. Ramza looks. There, right in between them and where the village should be, is a colossal bipedal reptile. Its fore legs are shrunken and almost laughable, but the giant legs and vicious teeth of the tyrant are enough deterrent for Ramza that he waves Mustadio to come close.

"If it comes closer than twenty feet, aim at the eyes." orders the cautious leader. Mustadio nods. The tyrant eventual leaves there path, but it takes about three hours. Mustadio looks to Ramza with a tired grin. "I guess we were not as prepared as we thought we were."

"Maybe… come on, we need to hurry. We will never get to the town by night fall now." Ramza answers. He is right. Night falls as the two reach the first sign of intelligent life. A broken choco-cart and tracks.

"You think there were survivors?" Mustadio asks.

"The tracks are fresh, and the cart seems odd some how. Stay on your toe. I've got a bad feeling." Ramza says, staring out into the wilderness. They march on. Mustadio suddenly perks up and points south.

"Lights! We are practically there! Look Ramza, we are ho-"A gunshot interrupts Mustadio, grazing the marksman's skull. Ramza Moves to defend his ally. Looking to the source of the shot Ramza sees a group of eight tiny cloaked people. They are no more than three feet tall. They start to charge. Ramza makes sure Mustadio is safe, and engages the bandits.

Bolts and bullets fly past Ramza. Three of the warriors attack Ramza with cheep ninja swords. They are wielded like a katana, and one of the desert people leaps with a yell. Ramza stabs him with his significantly longer blade, and knocks another back with a follow-up slash. Another two bandits replace their fallen ally, and one wounded drinks a potion. Ramza takes a risky maneuver, slashing with a wide arch. He hits two of his foes. One flies several feet away, but the other is altered by the chaotic magic within Ramza's sword. A stone statue stands where a deadly thief once did. Ramza has no time to celebrate, he is hit with a crossbow bolt, and bullets graze his feet. He counts three rangers. Ramza is hit in the shin by a stray bullet. He kneels on the rocky sand. In a surprise maneuver, Ramza tosses a small stone at one of the gunners. It hits, miraculously. Another swordsman advances at Ramza, but he simply steps on the tiny man. Ramza dispatches the thief and searches around for the rest of his enemies. The two crossbow men flank the last swordsman. This one wears fancy robes and a deadly looking blade. He jumps and swirls in the air before sticking the Chaos Blade with a bone jarring blow. Ramza is unable to raise his defenses again to dodge a flying kick to the chest. The bandit leader kicks off Ramza's midsection, onto the ground, and rebounds for a killing blow. Ramza sidesteps and grabs the little man by the neck.

"No, stop! Stop!" Ramza hears from behind him. His thigh is stung by a tingling blade. He realizes he has been poisoned. He stumbles, falls, and begins to lose consciousness. Again. He decides that this really has to stop before he passes out.

Ramza dreams of Alma. He dreams of how he and his sister would play in the court yard of Igros castle. He was chasing her down a path in the garden when he finds a door. He hears Alma past it. He tries to open it, but it is locked. He tries and tries, and finally breaks the door. Inside he sees himself, as an adult, strangling Alma. His adult face is emotionless, and it looks at him.

He shoots up out of his dream, sweating profusely. He is in a proper bed. The room is small and equipped for healing and treating wounds. He leaves and exits into a quiet desert village. The villagers look at him with curiosity, all except one. A young blond girl, as old as Alma, stands at the well. She brings up a bucket of water, and turns. Ramza sees the soft features of the girls face and feels his heart stop.

"Alma…" he says, paralyzed with shock. She runs to him and they embrace.

"You are safe now, brother. Here, we can be at peace." She whispers into his ear. He smiles and releases his sister. Ramza looks at her.

"I dreamed of you." He tells her. He smiles gently, and strokes her face. "You woke me up." He chose not to tell her the whole story. He felt no need. He knew that his family was safe, and that was enough for him.


	6. Chapter 6

I submit a challenge to all of you would be reviewers. The next chapter will contain a famous or more accurately infamous phrase from final fantasy tactics. Whoever guesses it first in the form of a review will have their screen name incorporated into the story. This is because I am a review whore.

"…but we underestimated the desert. I am still unsure how we survived the bandit attack." Ramza finishes. Alma had asked him to tell her what had happened to him. They were in the home of a man who was away on a trip to his family's town to the north. His wife offered to share the hut with Alma after she saved several men from a deadly illness. She had arrived through the gate crystal just in time to use her extraordinary healing skills to save them. Right now she was making tea for Mustadio, who lies in the adjoining room.

"I heard gun shots and ran out to see what was going on. You were attacked by a band of exiled Urutan-Yensa. They are a race of Hume hating desert people who live in what the people here insist is an ocean made of sand! The ones you met are exiles, there leader nearly killed you. They would have if I was not there to drive them off." Alma explains. She leaves for a moment to give Mustadio his tea. When she returns, she does not look amused.

"That whiner is perfectly capable of getting out of bed. Gah! You need to talk some sense into him. He is not sick, and lying around so he can be doted on all day is not appropriate behavior for a grown man." Alma says. She sighs, and resumes her more upbeat attitude. "So where do you plan on going next?"

"According to Balthier, the sky pirate I told you about, the best place for a traveling fugitive such as myself is the continent of Kerwon. It is almost totally Jaged,"

"You mean Jagt" Ramza glares at Alma for interrupting him.

"Yes, Alma. In any case it means it is a good place to go when you need to get away from the law. It also has several settlements, likely places to find the others." he finishes.

"Do you think it would be a good idea to wait here for a while?" asks Alma. Ramza gives her a look.

"No, not really. What are you hiding Alma. You have the look." Ramza says. Alma shakes her head.

"I do not know what you speak of. I am a lady. I do not lei. Plus, shouldn't we wait for Mustadio to improve?" Alma asks. She tries to look less guilty.

"Don't try that nonsense with me, Alma. You have not been able to properly lei to me since the time you stole mother's favorite broach and dropped into the well. Out with it." He orders. He is both irritated and amused at his sister. He had forgotten the fun of messing with his siblings.

"The women who lent me the hut did so because she thought you and Mustadio were here to…….." Alma says embarrassed. She looks at the ground and adjusts her pink dress.

"What was that last part?"

"Drive off the Urutan-Yensa. I'm so sorry, but I had to get you to a place where I could heel you, and I figured you might drive them off any way, and" Alma babbles on. Ramza laughs.

"Alma, look at me." he orders. She looks up. "I really so not mind driving off the bandits. I understand the need for lodging, and I would not leave with out paying back the lender anyway. As soon as I get Mustadio out of bed and into some decent cloths, we can prepare for the battle."

"Good. From what I heard, the Urutan-Yensa sleeps only during the hottest part of the day and the coldest part of the night. Morning is a good time for us to strike." Alma explains. She starts to leave, but Ramza stops her.

"You can't go."

"I can and will. You need a healer."

"You will not, and last time we were caught off guard."

"I am old enough to carry my own wait Ramza! Just because you are too afraid to accept I don't need you does not mean I do! You need to get it through your head that I am a person, just like every one else!" Alma yells.

"I am afraid of you getting hurt. How dare you imply I do this for myself?" Ramza yells back.

"The only reason you protect me is because you are terrified that you have nothing else to life for. You are too blinded by your sense of duty to live for yourself."

"What do I have beyond my duty? I saved the world, and because of it I am unable to have anything. Home is whatever abandoned farm house that we pass. If I was not around you could at least escape the priests by claiming I kidnapped you."

"Look around Ramza! You don't need to run any more!" She gestures to the hut. Ramza turns his face.

"A bad time?" sounds a voice. Mustadio stands in the doorway wearing a women's night shirt and a stupid looking cap. "I got up to tell you I was feeling better. Uh… I am going to find my clothes. Yea…" Mustadio blurts out. He slowly goes back into the room and closes the door. Ramza and Alma were sheepish grins.

"I am sorry Ramza. I should never have said those things." Alma tells her brother.

"You were not at fault. I was wrong; you should be able to go." Ramza concedes. He lets out a great sigh. "I do not know if this new world can give me back my life. I do know that right now I have a reason to live. Promise me Alma that after we find all of our friends that we will talk about what happened at the fort. I… I want you to know, but I can not tell you just yet." Ramza tells Alma. He puts a hand on her shoulder.

"I swear it." She looks into his eyes. Both siblings are for a moment connected, their mutual understanding of each linking the Beoulves together.

"We should start preparations immediately. If you would, could you go and purchase supplies? I will go and make sure Mustadio gets ready without and problems."

The Estersand shone like pure silver in the gleam of the rising sun. The only dark blemish on the metallic plain was dark spots where the Urutan were taking apart their camp. From on top a large dune Ramza prepares himself for the charge. Mustadio built a small wooden platform, two feet tall, behind which he would snipe errant exiles while Ramza advanced. Alma lays in wait behind the prone form of Mustadio.

Ramza concentrated on the upcoming battle. When his instinct told him the time had come, the great warrior unsheathed his blade. The Urutan all turn at once to see the outline of a swordsman truly unafraid of what might befall him. He screams a battle cry and charges at the sand people. The Urutan are surprised, but their wild instincts and loosely sheathed weapons put an end to that quickly. About half of the fifteen or so warriors prepare ranged weapons.

"The crack of a gun takes out one of the gunners. The rangers are unfazed, and fire their missiles at Ramza. He feels a bolt or two bounce off his armor, a sting in his arm indicated one of the gunners were able to hit. This does no more than stain his shirt. The moment when Ramza finally meets the line of Urutan swordsman he strikes three of the small bandits dead with a cleaving arc of wild magic and deadly steal. He blocks several strikes at once with his large sword. Soon he is surrounded. The plan is working.

Another gun shot strikes an Urutan crossbowman. The group of gunners and archers grimace in frustration when they realize that with their allies surrounding Ramza so completely they dare not fire. The instead turn to the hill, where Mustadio and Alma wait. Alma casts a protective spell on Mustadio and herself. Mustadio jumps up from his cover and taunts the rangers with a shot to kneecaps. The rangers run towards him. A massive explosion kicks sand into the air. The ranged warriors die instantly. The swordsman and Ramza are completely blinded by the sand and flash.

Ramza retreats up the hill and uses eye drops on his blurry eyes. The plan worked perfectly. He moves in to kill and Urutan that dare remain at the battle ground. None did. Ramza drinks a potion to tend his many wounds. Five dead bodies lay at his feet. No more than three of the bandits could have escaped. No sign of the rangers is left. Alma kneels praying for the souls of the fallen.

"Was it necessary?" She asks Ramza when he approaches. She looks at him with regretful eyes.

"No. There was no other was for the three of us to take down a whole band. We were lucky it worked." He answers.

"There was no way they could have been prepared for this." Alma notes.

"They killed many. Any other way they would have felt great pain."

"Do not imply that Ultima is merciful. I felt its burn once. It leaves nothing but destruction." Alma looks at the barren battle ground. It looks no different than before, but as the sun rises the shine disappears and it feels like something is missing. Ramza looks up into the blue heavens.

"You are wrong Alma. Ultima leaves nothing behind."


	7. Chapter 7

No Guesses? I am very disappointed! You all really let me down. You can, however make it up to me. It is really simple actually. Review a chapter. Any one will do, just click the button and tell me what you think. Evan a half hearted 'meh' is expectable.

Ramza was trying very hard to remember the mana flow for silence. He learned it from Beowulf, but the actual method seems just out of reach. He is on a chocobo, lent by a thankful traveling salesman, after he returned from the raid. He is in full armor, and the beating of the sun is all but unbearable. Mustadio is much more comfortable. He wears no armor. He is refreshed, having taken no wounds during the battle. Because of this Mustadio did what he always does when his is feeling good. He is talking endlessly. The motion of the chocobo, an inferior pack bird, added with the soreness of battle and the oven conditions prompted Ramza to be less than forgiven to Mustadio.

"Ramza, do you remember that time when you tried to eat Olivia's cherry broach?" the engineer asks ignorantly. Just than Ramza remembers the spell and prepares to cast. He is interrupted. Shade takes the whole of Giza plains. Ramza feels the heat fall off him like a heavy cape. He sighs. Then the sky falls on his head.

Or it feels that way. Actually it starts to rain with such ferocity that Ramza thinks the gods must want to wash him away like a blemish on their holy soil. He automatically takes the Chocobo to higher ground. He realizes they were riding in a river bed. Alma does the same. Ramza looks around. Trough the blinding and deafening rain he sees a yellow, Mustadio. "Get to the higher ground!!!" Ramza yells at the top of his lungs. No effect. The rain took Ramza's call away with it. Alma rides up and points to the river bed behind Mustadio. 'Dear Leviathan, a flash flood!' He thinks horrifyingly.

Ramza forces his Chocobo into a flying gallop. Mustadio stops, realizing his friends are no ware to be seen. Ramza reaches out as he approaches Mustadio. He plucks Mustadio out of his saddle and pulls him on the pack Bird. Mustadio grabs on tight. Ramza rushes towards the soon to be river bank. The sides of the river are much higher than before. Ramza curses and tries to make his cheep chocobo leap. It does but Ramza feels Mustadio slip off the rain slicked harness. He falls down the muddy wall. Turns, sees the wall of water coming, and scrambles.

"Take my hand!" yells Ramza, reaching out for his friend. He ties himself to a tree and reaches out over the bank. Mustadio grabs his arm and holds on. Then the water hits. The two friends feel as if their arms were stretched by one of the churches torture squads. Alma rides up close. She dismounts and runs over. Just before she can grab Ramza's legs the tree snaps. Ramza shoots off the bank like a crossbow bolt.

'I. Will. Not. Fall. Unconscious.' Ramza thinks resolutely. He became angry. 'I am sick and tired of all this nonsense. I refuse to be killed by a river. There is no way I will die because of some god- forsaken storm.' He grabs the rope on his leg, not letting go of Mustadio. The water tries to pull him under, and it takes all of Ramza's strength to not let go of his friend. He pulls himself and Mustadio on the log. He ties Mustadio to it and straddles it so he can control its orientation. Mustadio is not breathing, so Ramza uses a phoenix down to wake him up. A spray of water flies out of the engineer's mouth.

"Hey Ramza? I got a good feeling." Mustadio spits out. Ramza just raises his eye brows at him. He reflects on what just happened. 'Alma is probably terrified that we are both dead. Mustadio was carrying no gear on his bird, so nothing was lost there. Just one more thing to check'. Ramza pulls out a map. He spent about five hundred Gil weather proofing his maps, and it was worth it. He checked the path of the river. It led right into a settlement called Jahara. The log is jostled by a rock, Ramza quickly steadies it again. He finds himself laughing. If he wore no armor, than he would be much more comfortable. And than he would fall asleep. And the both of them would die. Irony.

When the log hit the shore of the river, Ramza noted hat it was imbedded into the mud. He fell forward and was sleeping before his head hit the ground. This woke Mustadio up. He is tied to a big piece of drift wood. He is not happy.

"Anyone out there? Ramza wake up. Wake up. Oh, Falam, you are dead asleep." Mustadio says. He sighs and yells "IS NY ONE AROUND? I AM IN NEED OF A RESCUE!"

Mustadio looks down at Ramza. In the river, there is a man staring at him. He has a giant horned helmet and a fishing spear. Mustadio says hello. The Man turns away and wades around the river.

"Help me! I am starving and cold and wet, and if I do not clean my gun soon it is sure to be ruined beyond hope of repair. Come on, It will not hurt. Please??" He pleads. The horned man walks up to the log. Before Mustadio can thank him, he knocks Mustadio unconscious.

Ramza woke up in a bed again. It is more of a cot, actually, and he is in a strange shelter made of beast skins stretched over lashed wood. Above him is a Hume man. He still has some of his boyhood in his face, but his body is lean and strong. He wears off white robes with sandals. He has short golden brown hair and an ever penetrating stare. Malek Galthana is incapable of smiling. No one of the special order of worriers known as the Devils Advocates were able to.

"You are well. Get up." orders the young man. Ramza does so. Malek did not lie, Ramza felt great. He turns to Malek and smiles. Malek may not be able to change his facial expression, but Ramza had learned long ago that his eyes were expressive in counter. Malek was relieved beyond all other things, his eyes shows it.

"Is Mustadio as 'well' as I am?" Ramza asks. He stretches his sword arm. Ramza had his armor token off, but is not worried. It is Malek, the incorruptible.

"No. he still sleeps. He awoke and disturbed one of our fishermen. The fisherman knocked him out because he scared the fish away, and brought the two of you here. This is Jahara, home of the Garif. Do not be alarmed by the giant horns, these people are wise and kind." explains Malek. He leads Ramza out. The village is primitive but peaceful. All the buildings are decorated, and the people wear skins. They also wear horned masks. Malek guides Ramza around.

"The cattle here are all Nana. The Garif live lives very similar to the way my and Rafa's tribe did before it was burned to the ground. I do not regret coming to this land. In this village I can be at home. I am learning to master the arts of Geomancy. You remember my interest in it. I am in turn teaching them the ways of the balance arts. If my sister would be here too, I would be able to teach them properly, but alas, she was sent else ware." continues the man. The two arrive at another tent. Inside is Mustadio. Before Ramza can examine his friend, Malek pulls him out of the tent. "Ramza, last time we traveled it was to stop Protect my sister, and all other people, from the subjugation of the Lucavi. Now I again ask for your aid in helping Rafa. She is not here, but I sense her to the east. From one brother to another, I ask your aid.

"First we find Alma. She must be worried to death about me."

This is my interpretation of Phoenix down. In Tactics you could resurrect someone but for five rounds after they die. My thinking is that if you are knocked unconscious or incapacitated in some way you are not dead unless he enemy makes sure of it. Phoenix stabilizes you by bringing you to the minimum (or more for chemists) state of being that allows for movement and battle and other stuff.

Hell knight and Heaven Knight are stupid names. Malek is now a Devil's Advocate, and Rafa an Angelic soldier. They are both known as avatars, which in my fic continuity is the term for warriors dedicated to using a certain kind of power. Also, Malek's sub class is geomancer, Rafa's is oracle, Ramza's changes but is right now archer (for charge), Malek is knight (for break), Alma is white mage, and Reis has a new version of her tactics class known as Holy Dragoon. Is you haven't played Final fantasy tactics; all the characters could uses two different ability sets. The class set and another from a class they trained at.


	8. Chapter 8

Let me explain to all o you why I am so manic about reviews. You see, I only read stories with at least twice as many reviews as chapters, or that have a great premise. I am using the revenent wings Penelo, and my own version of Vaan. With an actual shirt. I you find any errors; I need you to review and tell me.

Alma desperately tries to remember which saint protected brothers. Or flood victims. Or heroes. She franticly leads her and Ramza's chocobos out o the rain. She arrives at a city. From Ramza's description she identifies it as Rabanastre. She leads the 'bos over to a near by stand and has the Moogle attendant take them. She goes into the city, finds an inn, and buys a room, and weeps or three hours.

When she gets herself together, Alma gathers her resolve and leaves to find the place Ramza found his maps, Migello's sundries. She hurries and rushes in. Inside there is Migello, as big and blue as ever, talking to a young Hume man, in his low twenties if Alma had to guess. He wore a fancy silver and blue vest with shoulder armor and expensive gauntlets. His black and blue pants had armor attached in a way as to balance protection and movement. Ramza taught her that. Alma tears up or a second, but gathers enough courage to walk up to the Baanga.

"I believe you know my brother, Mr. Migello. You met several days ago. He went by the name o Jon?" she asks. The Baanga and the Hume turn to her. The Hume speaks first.

"You ok? I mean, you don't look so good." he asks. He scratches his head.  
"Yes, I remember Jon. You are his sister? Are you from the same other Ivalice?" Migello asks Alma. "Come behind the shop. You look like you need some food." He offers. He Hume follows. Behind the shop Alma takes a seat.

"I am afraid that me, my brother and an old friend o ours were traveling in the plains to the south when a storm of epic proportions nearly killed our mutual friend. Ramza tried to save him but they were both taken off. I was wondering I could purchase a map to recover their, uh, their…" Alma explains. She is unable o continue, as she starts crying.

"Maybe I should leave." suggests the Hume man. He is clearly uncomfortable. Migello gives him a look that could kill.

"You stay here, Vaan. I need help comforting this poor girl and running the store. Plus, I you leave what do you think is going to happen when Penelo finds you missing?" orders the aged merchant. Vaan sits back down.

"So your brother is this Jon? Migello told me about him. He sounds very strong." Vaan says. He squirms in his chair.

"My sob idiot brother calls sob calls himself Jon to sob people he doesn't sob trust. His name is Ra sob Ram sob Ramza." Alma replies. She grabs a near by napkin and blows her nose.

"I know what you are going through. I lost my brother too. I lost him to war. I will help you find your brothers body. We can use my airship. I can just follow the river until we find it. I promise, ok?" Vaan swears. He pats her on the back. She looks up at him.

"Its not the first time I lost my brother. First there was Dycedarg sob and Zalbag. I guess that I am sob doomed to be left without family." cries Alma.

"You are wrong. Family is what you make of it. I have a new family, and you will get one too." Vaan says.

Vaan's airship is fantastic. It is like something out of a dream. It is shaped like a giant white dragonfly leapt out of someone's imagination and into the real world. Penelo is holding Alma's hand while Vaan fires the engine up. Alma stopped shaking, but she still was on the brink of tears. Soon they were in the air. Alma pointed out were they had fallen into the river and tried to look for any sign of her brother and friend's remains. A few minutes later Vaan shouts "Look at that! That guy s ridding a red chocobo! I though that was impossible."

Alma knew that only a very good mediator could tame a wild red chocobo. Delita taught Ramza the trick back at Garland Academy. The secret was to tickle the bottom of there feet. It was useful for when they had needed to cross a mountain, because red chocobos could jump extremely high. Alma looks away from the river bank and sees the bird. On the bird is a blond man in purple-blue armor. Behind him is a yellow and black chocobo. One is ridden by a dirty blond man with a yellow shirt and the other by a man with robes and perfect posture. "Brings us down. Now." Alma orders. Vaan looks at her funny, but Penelo elbows him and he complies.

They land and when the door opens Alma runs out and practically jumps at Ramza. Mustadio takes out his sketch book and starts to draw the magnificent ship. Malek confronts Vaan and Penelo.

"Who are you?" Malek asks totally dead pan. He stares at Vaan.

"Uh, I'm Vaan. This is Penelo. Were sky pirates, although I prefer unofficial privateers' cause the queen knows us and…" Vaan goes on. He just keeps talking until Malek stops staring at him.

"Alma. Rafa is missing. Will you join us?" Malek asks. Alma nods. Ramza makes room or her on his chocobo. Ramza rides over to Vaan. He extends his hand and the two shake.

"Did you take care of my sister?" He asks.

"I have lost family. It was the least I could do." Vaan responds.

"I am Ramza Beoulve. Here, in this new land that means nothing. You helped my sister simply because you empathized with her plight. His makes you a good man." Ramza tells Vaan. Vaan nods and walks back to the airship. Penelo runs up to her partner.

"What was that all about?" She asks Vaan.

"Man stuff. You wouldn't understand." He tells her. She kicks him in the shin. Ramza and his friends watch as the two pirates leave.

Ramza smiles at his sister and says "We need to stop meeting each other like this. I don't know how many tearful reunions I can take."

"You're a fool. So what do we do next?" Alma asks. Malek answers.

"We go back to Jahara. There we release the yellow chocobos and have Ramza's new red stabled. Chocobos will not enter the forest were I feel my sister. We then walk to the Golmore Jungle. Rafa is there. We find her and than leave. With the four of us we should have no problem with monsters." Malek explains.

"I never thought I would miss the sound of Malek ordering us around, but after all of this it is a relief." Alma comments. She mounts Ramza's chocobo and they ride off into the sunset.

Ramza took the lead as he always did. He stands in the front as both a commander and a protector. Behind him stand Mustadio and than Alma. Mustadio needs to be able to see his enemies, and Alma is too valuable to be let unprotected. She is their healer, the most important job in any group. Malek marches in the rear. His senses are acute and he is quick to foil an ambush. The Ozmone plain had ruined airships every ware, and the morning after they left Jahara they woke up under the ruined deck of one. Mustadio took advantage o the situation to take more notes and even construct a tiny Glossair ring.

Mustadio turns to say something when a great serpent shoots out o the bushes. Ramza cuts it down before it strikes. From this point on everyone is more serious. They encounter a group of five large wolf men. Ramza and Malek advance. Malek makes some hand symbols and smashes it staff into the ground. The closest giant is tied to the ground by vines that shook up out of the grassy earth. Another is hit by a shot of wyrmfire shot. This angers it and the four able wolf men charge. Ramza enters combat with one, and Malek prepares a spell and jams his rod at a foe. It doesn't hit the giant, but soon after a group of explosions are set off randomly around it, totally stunning it. Malek rams his rod through its skull.

Ramza, meanwhile, is in need of help. He is surrounded by three, and or every one hit he is battered by fists the size o his head. A cure spell thanks to Alma gives him the strength to parry one of the wolf men's giant curved butcher swords and mortally wound the user. He is knocked over by the other two, and is almost stomped to death. Mustadio fires at one and Malek uses his Hell Thunder to distract them. Ramza backs up a bit to allow Malek to cast. Ramza goes up to the immobilized wolf man, now freed from his bonds, and turns him to stone with a strike of chaotic steel. Holy takes out the rest of the wolf giants and after a quick rest to heal and recuperate they are on there way again. The edge of the Jungle is near by, and Malek is more and more restless.


End file.
